Tugboat related issues, comments, and opinion.

Really? Kayaks?

Who’s the mental midgit that came up with the idea of kayak tours of the East River’s waterfront? There’s a growing trend of flotillas of multi-colored kayaks and canoes in all the wrong places in the recent past. Not long ago I read an article somewhere extolling the beauty of the New York skyline from a kayak and all I could think was, “Hey Jackass, that’s what the Circle Line boats are for”. Kayaks aren’t meant for a commercial waterway.

A quick Google search reveals quite a few sites for kayaking in the New York City area. I visited a few of these sites and saw little in the way of educating kayakers to the danger of playing in the midst of commercial traffic, although to their credit they do keep novices quarantined in protected coves or basins to start. These stalwart if misguided souls that venture into open water relate how awestruck they are by the experience of New York Harbor kayaking, but I don’t think they’ve given serious thought to the environment they’ve entered. We’re just a quaint backdrop to their vistas. Awestruck is what they will be when they’re caught in a back eddy off Hallet’s Point and I come around the corner in a full slide…but I don’t think the word can begin to describe the feeling they’ll have.

The sites I visited expressed no caveats or understanding of how dangerous we are to them. Yeah I get that the waterways are public, but do you really think that a ship is going to be able to wait for your pals to catch up to the group?

With kayaks paddling along in the East River, jet skis blasting by with more than two riders, water skiing on the sea plane approaches off 23rd St on the East River, NY., fishing in the channel, chasing tugboat wakes on jet skis, it’s going to get real ugly. It all adds up to a situation where recreational boaters end up in the midst of heavy commercial traffic and they just don’t get it.

So here it is, the 4th of July weekend and I’m watching kayaks paddling up the East River off the Brooklyn piers and along the ferry slips of Lower Manhattan as I make my way to Bay Ridge Anchorage. I mean really, kayaking on the East River! C’mon already, you’re so low to the water that you’re barely visible to traffic at half a mile. With no less than a dozen ferries and tows tossing wakes and flying by at a fair clip a disaster is only a matter of time. God help you when you’ve finally figured out why you made such good time up the river only to find yourself paddling you ass off against the current to get back to your expensive SUV before dark. Are you having fun now?

Every day during the recreational season boaters submit themselves to potentially fatal exposures and are completely oblivious to it. Thousands of pleasure seekers take to the water and expect their days to be just like the catalog pictures they perused before they bought their boat. Carefree and sunny days afloat without a care in the world, just bring enough sunscreen, granola bars and water. No concern for proper radio etiquette or the correct channel to call for a radio check…jeez if they even have a radio. Hell, most don’t understand a GPS unit enough to relay their position when they do get in trouble. Kayaks? They may have a flashlight or even a small strobe, riiiight….another bouncing glittering light lost in the city’s skyline.

There’s an urgent need to educate the recreational boater and identify the issues that commercial traffic faces in everyday operations and that information should be spread far and wide with notices of “no-play-zones” enforced to minimize the dangers the recreational community is up against by being on the water along with the commercial community.

I submit that these enterprises should at least make an effort to have their presence announced or perhaps provide some sort of radio equipped motor escort on their little jaunts. At least there would be someone to talk to.

For the life of me, I can’t seem to wrap my head around this kind of nonsense of playing in a commercial waterway, you might as well be playing hopscotch in the truck lanes on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Here’s an offer, if you or your friends are part of this madness, drop me a line. I’d be willing to address the issue of education with your group (for carfare and lunch, gratuities will be accepted). You’ll be safer for it and so will I.

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22 Responses

Good post and right on. As a sail boater I am constantly amazed at the dangerous situations I observe on the water, some involving children, put in harms way by uneducated parents. The best thing NYState done in a long time is mandating life vests for under 13 year olds. The next thing will be mandating licensing/training to operate a boat of any size.

The Delaware Bay & River pilots put out a brochure some years ago which was put in countertop displays at every marina they could reach up and down the river. It highlighted the dangers, and warned folks not to play in the channel. Good effort, it was. Might not be a bad idea for the city as well.

Capt. Brucato – if you want to teach people, teach them. If you want to insult them, insult them. Your call. But if you start by insulting them and then offer to teach them, what kind of results do you think you are going to get?

I’ve seen some idiotic behavior out there myself. Every experienced NYC paddler has – I challenge you to find one of us who hasn’t got a horror story. I’ve also seen a lot of people do a lot of good – and much needed – work on boating safety for recreational boaters. I recently got my NYS safe boating certificate after a day class taught by a gentleman from SUNY Maritime (sponsored by the sailing committee of my boating club). I’ve been to a boating safety class taught the NYC-area Power Squadron (sponsored by the NYC Watertrail Association & New York Riversports), and my club has a very good relationship with the Coast Guard Auxiliary members at the yacht club next door (I wish I could join the Auxiliary but I simply haven’t got the free time).

All of those organizations, and the individuals involved, manage to do a very good job of educating recreational boaters. And PS – the sites you visited probably don’t say much about harbor traffic specifically because they are aimed at letting people try out kayaks in controlled situations. The only place that I know of in NYC where a person can rent a kayak & just go is in one of the farthest corners of Jamaica Bay. I bet that if you emailed any of them saying “I just bought a kayak on Craig’s List and I just can’t WAIT to get out on the river, what do I need to do”, you’d get a response much more in line with what you’d want to see. Personally, I’ve had some mixed emotions about some of the all-free all-the-time programs – but some of them are run by some very skilled paddlers who are as committed to teaching people safe boating habits as you would want them to be.

If you want to help, I’d suggest that you drop the name-calling, try to rustle up a modicum of understanding for kayakers (listen, if I had the money to paddle the east end of LI every weekend, or elegantly cruise about on my “yot”, I bloody well would, but I grew up in Hawaii, being on the water is my favorite thing in the world, and guess what, local kayaking through a local club happens to be what I can afford), get in touch with any or all of the volunteer organizations named above. You are correct in that with the influx of recreational boaters, some with absolutely none of the experience a boater needs to operate in NYC’s heavily mixed-use waterways, getting out there in all kinds of craft, there’s a crying need for all the education that can be made available – you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, though, there are some damned good programs out there already.

PS – ordinarily I wouldn’t have left a comment here – but I got sent to the post by a Facebook message asking for my opinion. I misread it & thought it was from you, and although I usually keep my more strident opinions to my own blog, I thought that you were looking for sparring partners & figured I’d obliged. Went back & looked again and…oh oops, it wasn’t you. However, upon rereading what I’d written (and excising a few overly-snarky moments here & there), I think I do have something of a point. So…there you go.

Bonnie, Thank you for your note. If the terms I used regarding your particular choice of recreational endeavor seemed to go a bit too far, so be it. I the past I have mentioned how I feel about a boat as a recreational outlet (just a personal preference) but just so you know, I work on a tugboat, not for the diplomat corp. I say what I feel and think and I don’t sugarcoat anything..
That said, I was thinking that skewering your comment would be unfair, I do appreciate the feedback. It is my hope that any exchange can foster greater communication and incite others to learn more about me and my perspective. I have no way of knowing any boater has had any instruction or training, I can only base my judgment on what I see.
When I began working in this industry, recreational kayaks and canoes were relegated to the upper Hudson and back creeks of sheltered bays and creeks where their exposure to tugboats was minimal. Encounters were few and rare.
You may well be able to appreciate my position when I have to deal with a swarm of perfectly innocent small craft EVERY 10 seconds on a daily basis during the warm weather and anticipate their behavior all the while piloting 550′ of steel holding 5 million gallons of gasoline weighing in at nearly 25,000 tons. I should mention, I can’t just stop. I need a fair amount of sea room to bring all that weight to a halt. The close quarters and swift currents on the local waters don’t make that any easier.
My only options are:
a; run my vessel aground avoiding a little guy who’ll no doubt disappear before the hull comes to a halt on N.Y.C.’s version of Bligh Reef.
b; run aground and spill a few million gallons and end my career with the added bonus of earning the second spot on the 6 o’clock news.
c; run someone’s Mom or Dad or child down and end my career with the onus of living with that knowledge while I sit in jail.
or d; try to attract attention and shed light on what I see as a threat to the health and welfare of all of us on the water.

You are the exception to the rule when it comes to the boating public. A safe boating certificate is all well and good and I for one applaud your commitment to your safety.
That said, I express frustration as a professional mariner who sees the worst boaters far more often than the good ones. I could post a thousand photos and relate as many narratives of “boaters behaving badly”.
I am subject to a licensing and certification level that goes well beyond a “safe boating certificate”. Like everyone in my chosen profession, my career depends on my license and the folks that grant it are more than happy to take it away at the slightest infraction. The recreational community doesn’t have any real skin in the game when it comes to responsibility and that pisses me off.
In the USCG’s opinion, I am more responsible for your safety than you are since I’m the professional and should “know better” I’m the one who will face a hearing and jail time if your comrades find themselves under my bow.
As far as my “name-calling” is concerned, I think I used a perfectly appropriate appellation for what I see. Don’t take it personally, you in particular are not the target of my frustration. But in the case of others, if the shoe fits….
I grew up amidst modest means on the Jersey Shore and I get it that not everyone can go “top shelf” in life.
In any case, I stand by my opinion, recommendations and offer of speaking to any group that might be interested. Just know that it’s a boatman giving his perspective, not a deep sea guy or local USCG Auxiliary, just a New York City Tugboatman. Someone who’s been working in and around New York Harbor for the last 38 years….
Enjoy the rest of your summer and be safe.
BB

Right on Captain. I never cease to wonder at some of the antics some of my fellow recreational boaters engage in. They are completely oblivious to vessel safety, rules of the road, proper radio procedure seamanship, etc.etc.

I marvel at the skill you commercial guys display every day–and I thank you for that skill.

Thanks, Capt. Brucato. I hadn’t read your history but from this post alone, I had you pegged for someone who’d been working NY Harbor for a long time & could still remember the days when it was just the commercial fleet & maybe the odd sailboat or powerboat.

An old friend who’s done a ton of safety education through the Norwalk CG Auxiliary actually posted a comment over on my blog with a site I think you might enjoy: http://thesafeharbor.us/

Ray Fusco (organizer of the Mayor’s Cup kayak race around Manhattan & a ton of other events in the area) is the “Ray” posting on that site and would probably be an excellent person for you to contact with your concerns & interests – http://www.rayfuscoinc.com/

And I see you’ve got PortSide NewYork on your blogroll – Carolina’s done a lot with the Red Hook Boaters & other local paddlers & I think she’s a pretty good intemediary between us relative newcomers and the old-school commericial floks.

I’ve actually sent this along to a few friends who are involved in the east river groups – they actually may not have time to get back to you right away because they actually are both involved in some summer safety projects themselves – but they’ve read your post, they’ve seen your concerns & I would not be surprised if you did hear back from them at some point.

If I may, I comment based on what I see. I wouldn’t have much to say if there were nothing but well behaved and courteous boaters out there (human powered or not). In your case I’m certainly preaching to the choir since like Bonnie, you care enough to learn about where you’re headed and how to safely get there.
bb

Of course the issue is that when you talk to any of these organizations, you are preaching to the choir – the folks who appear the most interested in flinging their tiny craft under your bows are probably not members of or even aware of any of the above. However, those of us who are are in a good position to get the word out.

I simply don’t understand the reluctance to endorse and lobby for mandatory training and license certificates, before someone enters the water as a boat operator. What if all tug boat captains training was elective?
This must be an economic issue to boat sellers and renters. No mention of any such initiative on any of the websites mentioned by bonnie.

Boy, the licensing question is a sticky one, isn’t it. I always felt like if I had a choice between zoning-type restrictions & getting a license, I’d go for the license. That’s just me though – relatively conservative Navy-brat type. Among my boating friends, attitudes range from “it would be a good idea” to philosophically dead-set against it – not that any NYS licensing regulations would be likely to even touch non-motorized vessels, they just don’t like the concept. Touchy subject & I think that an organization would have a terrible time reaching a consensus.

There is definitely an economic angle to it – I have a friend who lived in CT or years & had just been saying recently that the licensing requirements there killed the boat rental industry, and I’ve read at least one report from a rental place on a lake in the Chatauqua area that said they lost most of their PWC rental business when NYS started requiring safe boating certificates for those & that licensing for a wider range of boats would probably put them under.

There’s no getting anything past you Dave, please note I included canoes as an example of another inappropriate vessel for a commercial waterway. It has to do with racing the Indy 500 on a tricycle. Besides I was too busy with moving a rather large vessel through a tight channel to be playing photographer on the day in question.

I’ve lived in NY for 12 years and South Florida for 8. Don’t take this as a know-it-all statement because I’m sure there are good reasons not to kayak on NY rivers, I’ve heard the currents and waves can get pretty rough and unbearable for small vessels. In Miami and Ft Lauderdale though, during some weeks, hundreds of Kayaks and Jet Skis paddle and zip around the Port of Miami or FTL – which is probably smaller than NY Harbor but it is still huge – along side Yachts, Cruise Ships, and Cargo ships. I’m sure there are crashes and fatalities, but those seem to be relatively few as I’ve been doing it with friends since before high school, and without any formal training. It was just last year that you had to start taking a boater exam in FL to ride a jet ski anywhere. Would it be impossible for this type of “getting along” to happen in NY? Is it just logistically impractical? Are there not enough jet skiers and kayakers there to make their voice strong enough to cater to their inconvenient adventures? Why does it work in one city and seem so unusual in another. (I’m guessing the violent waters of NY?)

Subsequent to this article’s first release I have had conversations with a number of responsible, careful and considerate folks in the “kayak” community. To recap, New York is a large harbor with a great concentration of commercial traffic like Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. The volume of transits made daily are impressive and can be difficult to negotiate given the chaotically busy nature of the place. It’s not a tropical port. It’s not a year round issue. In the warm weather folks want to play on their toys. I have no problem with that except that playing with toys in the middle of a busy waterway seems irresponsible to me. That’s the reason I wrote the article, since at the time I didn’t see nor was I aware of any serious effort to educate these recreational endeavors. I have since been schooled in the existence of many clubs and serious organizations dedicated to keeping their members and my colleagues safe in NY Harbor and vicinity. Read back a few comments and note how I was taken to task by a rather cheeky young woman who saw fit to give me a dressing down for my ignorance and shortsighted opinion. As a result of her initial scolding we were able to start a conversation that will hopefully encourage more folks to seek education before recreation.

I would like to chime in on this subject, as a former Public Boating course instructor with the USPS long ago when it was an 8-week, 16 hour course that taught many aspects of boating safety and seamanship including dead reckoning coastal navigation (something I always loved).

Bonnie’s activity in getting educated before going out paddling on the NYC waterways is to be applauded. Not enough folks trying something for the first time do that and end up endangering themselves and others. My first venture in a kayak was in a Riverhead, Long Island tributary, and the only hazardous traffic on the water was an angry goose (and he was the stand on vessel then!).

What Bonnie didn’t mention is that kayaker’s, at least as far as I knew, had to perfect the roll over save technique, which I doubt places that rent kayaks don’t make their customers learn before giving them a real kayak (not the open shelled kind you see much of). That maneuver is the singular skill that paddlers have over any other mariner out there. It’s a life saver and means having a fun day, or your last on the water and possibly on Earth.

Boating education is in my humble opinion a must before venturing out on the waters. Even more so, MUCH more so, when plying the tricky currents and heavy activity of NY Harbor and heavily trafficked commercial waterways. If private pilots have to respect airways that larger commercial aircraft fly in, then why isn’t that the same rule for private boaters, or boaters with limited maneuverability like sailboats, kayaks and other human powered craft? It makes sense to be sensible out there, and in the case of wakes generated by passing tugs, ferries, etc. in NY Harbor, I for one would not want to be there in anything less than 30 feet with two good engines aboard. In the back bays of Jamaica where the water’s only four feet deep, a paddling craft is perfect.

That said, the old rule of “if the shoe fits” applies. The Hudson River and East Rivers are not good places to be in small, underpowered craft. It’s a risk to operate any sort of craft that small in such an area where if in any other more protected and calm area, the risks are minimal.

The key is education. Knowing what you don’t know is far more valuable than learning something new. If folks want to risk their lives on the water playing around commercial vessels, let them first know the risks involved before they get handed the paddle to a kayak somewhere. Thanks skipper for this blog for us “water type” folks to vent out and share information. Stay safe out there and enjoy one of the best jobs in the world.

I’ve been working in and around NY Harbor since I was a teenager and can say that although the water quality is better than it used to be, it’s not a swimming kind of recreational waterway (For me anyway, I’m not a city kid. I grew up “down the shore”). It would not be my first choice with the Jersey beaches or LI beaches so close. The idea of a “rollover” in the East River is not what I would consider fun, at least not without scheduling a Dr.’s appointment for immediately after.. Thanks for your comment.